1. If the US public schools did not coddle lazy, worthless POS kids, our scores would be comparable.
Nobody can get a zero. Everybody can redo and redo. Failing kids can “redeem” to pass by doing busy work.
2. If we separated the kids who can’t perform, our scores would be comparable.
We have kids with IQs in the upper 70s, 80s and 90s trying to learn the same math as kids with average and above IQs. In other countries, these kids aren’t in the same pool to measure.
In any event, government needs to be out of education - just like it needs to be out of health insurance.
Do they put them in special schools? I think the same should be done here, (judging from the horror stories I hear from teachers I know.) But that opinion is so politically incorrect it just about causes swooning.